They drop the book when it grows clear to them
that the two people in the book are themselves.
(They’ll be acting in another peerless one
but of what concern is that to them?)
Now they are Paolo and Francesca,
not two friends sharing
the sweet taste of a story.
Their eyes meet in wonder and disbelief.
Their hands do not touch.
They have discovered the sole treasure.
They have found the other.
They are not betraying Malatesta,
since betrayal requires a third party
and in the world just the two of them exist.
They are Paolo and Francesca
and also the queen and her lover
and all the lovers that ever were
since Adam lived with Eve
on the lawns of Paradise.
A book, a dream, has made them see
that they are creatures of a dream once dreamt
in Breton lands.
Another book will see to it that men,
also, will dream their dreams of them.
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